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US demands ‘accountability’ for Jenin girl’s death, equates terrorists with victims

State Department spokesman failed to distinguish between victims of terror and terrorists killed while fighting IDF troops.

By World Israel News Staff

The U.S. State Department called for “accountability” after the IDF took responsibility for the accidental shooting death of a 16-year-old girl in Jenin during a firefight with local terror groups.

During a press briefing on Monday, State Department spokesman Ned Price said that the U.S. expresses “our profound condolences to the family of Jana Zakarneh, the young teenage girl who was killed.

“It is a tragic incident. It’s a heartbreaking incident any time you hear of a civilian being killed in these types of operations. We understand the IDF is undertaking an investigation into what happened. We hope to see accountability in this case,” Price continued.

The spokesman did not elaborate on what “accountability” would look like in this context. The U.S. previously called for IDF accountability regarding the slaying of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, with some American lawmakers pressuring Israel to change its rules of engagement in response to the incident – a demand which Jerusalem flatly refused.

In November, the FBI announced that it launched a formal probe investigating Abu Akleh’s killing, angering Israeli officials who said the move constituted inappropriate interference in Israel’s internal security affairs.

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Price continued by noting that Zakarneh’s “tragic death comes in the context of the escalating violence in the West Bank that we’ve noted and lamented for some time now.”

He then added that the U.S. was concerned by the “alarming increase in Palestinian and Israeli deaths and injuries, including injuries to numerous children and now the death of a young Palestinian teenager.”

Price did not distinguish between Israeli civilians slain by terrorists, such as the 16-year-old Canadian-Israeli killed in the recent Jerusalem bus stop bombing, and members of terror groups who was shot while hurling explosives or firing at IDF troops.

Washington D.C. expects “all parties to take steps to de-escalate the situation,” Price said. “It’s vital that the parties themselves take urgent action to prevent even greater loss of life.”